While companies see the value of innovation, they frequently fail to put the right tools in place to support those goals. The new collaboration will be built on technologies that enable easy knowledge sharing outside the firewall.

Abstract: Remember bound volumes of reports in the company library? Secretaries who took the boss's dictation? And smart people who shut their office doors and emerged with full blown ideas for business? Depending on where you are in your career, these may be real but ancient history. Or they may be laughable absurdities. You're probably finding that exclusivity, hierarchy and solitude are already being replaced by radically different ways of collaborative working.

The signs are unmistakable. People increasingly work in places other than their offices—and on teams that draw expertise from virtually anywhere in the world. They access applications, data and subject matter experts live and across networks—and others tap into the same information. They employ whatever end-user device is right for the job to improve productivity—while enhancing the work experience for themselves and their employees. Today, collaboration is the name of the game.

In today's competitive environment, sharing information and expertise can be critical in driving both individual and organisational success. From forward-thinking business leaders to younger workers who have grown up in the Web-based world, working collaboratively is now business as usual.